Apple's Siri upgrade faces delays after testing issues

Apple’s planned upgrade to Siri has encountered testing issues, potentially delaying some features initially scheduled for release in early 2026.

The company had aimed to include the new capabilities in iOS 26.4 in March.

It is now considering spreading them over later updates, possibly until iOS 26.5 in May or iOS 27 in September.

Testing revealed problems such as slow response times, inaccuracies, and Siri sometimes failing to process queries properly.

Internal versions of upcoming updates show some features, including enhanced access to personal data and advanced voice commands, may not function reliably at launch.

Apple is also testing new AI features such as web search and image generation, which remain finicky.

The broader AI initiative, codenamed “Campo,” involves a new Siri powered by Google servers and custom models.

The situation remains fluid, and plans may change further.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Apple AI problems and a reported billion-dollar agreement with Google

Internal tests found Apple’s proprietary AI models failed on complex queries about 33% of the time, which fits with reports of broader testing snags 1.
That gap helped push a multi-year partnership that would base the next generation of Apple Foundation Models (Apple’s in-house large language models) on Google’s Gemini models plus cloud technology, with some estimates around $1 billion a year 2.
Gemini won out after benchmarks found stronger abstract reasoning and multimodal reasoning, which covers connecting text, images, and audio for the advanced personal assistant features planned 1.
Executives have framed the arrangement as a “bridge strategy” while work continues on next-generation proprietary models code-named “Ferret-3,” aimed at a 2026–2027 rollout 1.

How the Google agreement could affect infrastructure, devices, and the App Store

Google’s technology would run the new Siri, while Apple says Apple Intelligence will still run on Apple devices and through Private Cloud Compute infrastructure 2.
The “stateless” setup aims to answer queries without logging user data, which supports Apple’s privacy stance while relying on a rival’s core AI 3.
These features could lift device demand since they may require the iPhone 17 Pro’s expected 12GB of RAM (memory) plus a new A19 chip for a 40% boost in AI processing power 1.
A tighter, more capable Siri could squeeze “AI wrapper” apps, which mainly repackage third-party AI models with a thin interface, and developers may need Apple’s App Intents framework (a system that lets apps expose actions to Siri and system features) to stay relevant 1.